"In fact, a recent study (source) highlights how human land management has fundamentally altered fire regimes. The study finds that decades of fire suppression and urban development have created unnatural landscapes with accumulated fuels, amplifying the intensity and destructiveness of fires. For instance, the mean age of fuels combusted in the KNP Complex Fire was estimated at 40 years, underscoring how decades of mismanagement have allowed highly combustible materials to accumulate." from: https://x.com/MatthewWielicki/status/1877754906645324156
Celeste, I believe the map in your link shows only a fraction of the precipitation for a "water year" because of the "end date" in January 2025. With that end date it only shows rainfall over about three months, as a percentage of the multi-year average *annual* rainfall.
If you put in the end date (9/30/2024) for the water year of 2024 (water-year starts on 10/1 and ends in 9/30 each year), you'll see 2024 received average rainfall. If you put in the end date of 9/30/2007 (a severe drought year) then you see that year was below average almost everywhere in CA.
Spot on. Native Americans managed the landscape with fires (just like Aboriginals in Australia & Bushmen in Africa, —pyrophilic primates). The forest service's «fire prevention» only stacks up undergrowth as future tinder to ignite crown fires that move at SAW velocities!
Interestingly, Australian Aborigenes are being allowed to burn manage certain areas.
Another decent article, though it includes the obligatory nod to climate change: https://www.thefp.com/p/stop-blaming-politicians-los-angeles-wildires
"In fact, a recent study (source) highlights how human land management has fundamentally altered fire regimes. The study finds that decades of fire suppression and urban development have created unnatural landscapes with accumulated fuels, amplifying the intensity and destructiveness of fires. For instance, the mean age of fuels combusted in the KNP Complex Fire was estimated at 40 years, underscoring how decades of mismanagement have allowed highly combustible materials to accumulate." from: https://x.com/MatthewWielicki/status/1877754906645324156
Your rain statistics don't match the data I see, which is that Southern California received less than 20% of average rainfall. https://cww.water.ca.gov/maps?tab=precipitation
Celeste, I believe the map in your link shows only a fraction of the precipitation for a "water year" because of the "end date" in January 2025. With that end date it only shows rainfall over about three months, as a percentage of the multi-year average *annual* rainfall.
If you put in the end date (9/30/2024) for the water year of 2024 (water-year starts on 10/1 and ends in 9/30 each year), you'll see 2024 received average rainfall. If you put in the end date of 9/30/2007 (a severe drought year) then you see that year was below average almost everywhere in CA.
You can also check here: https://cww.water.ca.gov/maps?tab=precipitation
search for precipitation at station LAN (Which confusingly is LAX airport I believe).
You will see water year 2024 had average rainfall in S. Cal. (averaged over the year).
Here is a more detailed article by someone else on the same subject:
https://x.com/MatthewWielicki/status/1877403644175462771
Doing a little more digging I seem to have found that:
In 2007 the conditions were similar: there was severe drought and very high SAW in S. Cal. Resulting in huge wildfires.
Pacific Palisades was largely burned down by wildfires in 1920, 1938, and 1961. It was much more sparsely populated back then.
Spot on. Native Americans managed the landscape with fires (just like Aboriginals in Australia & Bushmen in Africa, —pyrophilic primates). The forest service's «fire prevention» only stacks up undergrowth as future tinder to ignite crown fires that move at SAW velocities!
Interestingly, Australian Aborigenes are being allowed to burn manage certain areas.
We do controlled burns here in Western Australia every year, same climate as LA. We don’t have the devastating fires that LA just suffered.
Mind you, 100 mph Santa Anna winds are unique.